The Years Go By- Have We Changed That Much?
by Winter Rose2
Summary: Sequel to In Another Realm, nine years after the ending. I'll probably edit the summary later. Rated 'M' for language and... other things...
1. Some Thing's Never Change

_Hiiro's POV_

"Hey, Cody." I greeted my friend and co-worker. He waved and got back to work on the bright, but battered, mustang. I removed my purple Death City jacket from my arms, tied it around my waist, grabbed my favorite wrench (yes, I have a favorite wrench. Get over it.), and slid it into my belt loop.

I had an old an old Mitsubishi Diamante to fix up, and it wasn't going to be quick. I had about six-eighths of work done. Lying back on the creeper (_**A/N in mid-sentence: No, not THAT kind… Google mechanic's creeper if you're that dumb**_), I rolled underneath the car and held my wrench up to the loose bolt. The wrench turned with the bolt in my hand, and I looked around the underside to see if there were any other problems besides the radio's wiring.

"Hey, Scarlet!" Cody called, "I'll be in the back if you need anything!"

"M-kay!"

Only Cody was allowed to call me Scarlet anymore. Well, him and my family of course. After I had come back from Death City during summer vacation when I was fourteen, I had pretty much changed my name to Hiiro. Cody always called me Hiiro when we weren't working. But, in the mechanic's shop that we share, both of us were all business. This meant BFF nicknames were a no-no.

Two years ago, Cody and I decided to open up a mechanic's shop. We were both skilled in fixing things, so why not get paid for it? We split the money evenly, based on who did what for what customer. Lately we were getting paid separately, working on separate cars or motorcycles, etc. We were the only good mechanics in town that didn't scam people for their money. I'm not joking here. It was us, and three other shops. The other three ripped people off, and got more money for what it was worth. We were getting more business than the other guys. In all honesty, I think they were a bit jealous. I mean, I'm a freaking _girl_. And I'm a better mechanic than most of them combined. It was just Cody and me in the shop, the others had at least five to six guys working there.

Back to what was currently happening. I ended up finding a few more loose nuts and bolts, and one of the tires was almost flat. As I was tightening the last of them, someone kicked my foot.

"Yeah?"

"Yo, you gotta come look at my motorcycle," a male voice said.

"Okay, gimme a minute."

"No, girly. Come see what the problem is now."

Still underneath the Mitsubishi, I pointed my wrench in the direction of the voice. "Listen, buddy, I know you want your bike fixed, but ya don't have to be such a dick."

"Oh? So I ride all the way out here from Nevada to come visit an old friend, and she calls me a dick!"

A realization hit me, and my eyes widened. I sat up quickly, and my head hit the bottom of the car.

"AH, FUCK!" I yelled loudly.

I rolled out from underneath the car, rubbing my head. I squinted against the sun, and stood up. My mouth gaped open a little, and a smiled spread across my old friend's lips.

"Soul!" I shouted, and ran into his open arms.

I could feel muscles under his shirt, and a tingle went down my spine. We pulled away, and I beamed for no reason.

"Hey, it's great to see you again. Do you still go by Hiiro?" he asked.

"Damn right, I do. Pretty much my real name."

Soul chuckled. I took him in. In the nine years I hadn't seen him, he'd changed physically. He was now four inches taller than me, well-toned, and more of a man than the boy I remembered. Even his clothes were more mature; a casual black button-down that showed a bit of his stomach with rolled up sleeves, dark blue jeans, and red sneakers. His hair, always in a headband when I knew him, was just as spiky and colorless as always, but no headband.

"How's Maka?" I asked eagerly.

He motion behind him with his head. "Ask her yourself."

I looked behind him and, sure enough, Maka was there, leaning against his orange motorcycle. She ran and hugged me tightly. She'd matured to.

"Not the flat-chested shrimp I remember." I told her with a giggle. Her face turned the lightest shade of red.

"Not flat-chested, but still a shrimp! Maka's wearing heels." Soul told me, laughing.

I looked down, and on her feet were pink gingham sandals with thick two-inch heels. The pink matched her pink short sleeved jacket that covered her orange tank top, layered over a pair of denim shorts. Her hair had grown too, now reaching her mid-back.

"Well, I guess the same could go for you, Hiiro." she said with a smile.

It was true. I had grown since then, in height, curves, and… chestal areas, and my wardrobe changed too; a black tank top with a blue fishnet crop tee over it, khaki cargo capris, but my usual black hi-tops. I had cut my chocolate hair a little, and kept it in a choppy ponytail that reached just below my shoulder blades, and I wore steampunk looking goggles with blue traps on top of my head.

"Cody! Get your ass out here! We've got important company!" I called to the back.

"Coming!" he responded.

He emerged from his "office," as he called it, and stopped mid-stride when he saw Soul and Maka.

"No way!" he said, a smile cracking on his face. He ran to us, and gave Soul a quick hug, and squeezed Maka to him. Soul and I smirked to each other as our blonde friends enveloped each other in nine years missed of hugs in one big, long one.

"I knew he had a thing for her-"

"I knew she had a thing for him-"

We whispered to each other at the same time. I giggled at that. Some things never change, like me and Soul talking simultaneously about pretty much the same thing.

_**A/N…**_

_**And that was the first chapter of the sequel. It gets actiony, don't worry! That's all!**_

_**Same old love with bunnies!**_

_**~Winter Rose**_


	2. Dare for Pocky

Soul and Maka stood on either side of me, Cody casually leaning against the wall next to the door. I dug in my pockets, and found seventy-five cents, a gum wrapper, and a hairpin. Cody shook his head with a smirk playing on his face. "Dammit…" I muttered a curse.

"What?" Maka asked sweetly.

"I forgot my key inside the fucking house," I told her.

I'd developed quite the sailor's mouth over nine years. Something that seemed to take Maka and Soul by surprise. Every time a more advanced swear dripped passed my lips, they seemed to flinch in the smallest way possible. I took the hairpin from one of my many pockets, and slipped it inside the keyhole. This would not be the first time I'd forgotten my key. In that case, I always had a hairpin in my pocket or hair. The pin twisted and turned with the gears, until I heard a faint click. With a proud smile, I turned the knob and opened the door.

"Welcome to Apartments of Hiiro and Cody!" I told them like a game show host. They let out a small laugh and followed Cody into the small area. For a brief moment, I wondered if Maka and Soul still lived in their apartment. If they did, they had more space than Cody and I. Our apartment had two bedrooms both missing a closet, a small living room that connected to the kitchen, not by wall, but by the sudden stop of carpet that turned into linoleum, and two incredibly small bathrooms.

"So," I began, placing my hands on my hips casually. "Where ya guys staying? Hotel?"

Soul and Maka looked at each other nervously. "Well, we don't particularly have a place to stay. You see, we were hoping to stay at your place…" Maka told me.

"Oh, okay. Um… it's even smaller that your place was… I guess, Maka you can room with me, and I'll go buy an air mattress at the store sometime tonight. Soul, you can sleep in Cody's room, and he'll sleep out here on the couch," I offered.

"Whoa, slow your roll there," Cody interrupted. "Why do _I _have to sleep on the couch? It pulls out into a bed, so why can't Soul sleep on it?"

"Because he's a guest."

"But it's my room, and I decide whether or not he can sleep there."

"Oh, well I hope you've made a decision." I stepped forward and crossed my arms. Cody once told me I looked scary when I did that, and that when I did I usually had this piss-off look in my eyes.

"I have," Cody said, swallowing.

"Great, so Soul's sleeping in your room?"

"No."

I fingered my wrench that was stuck in my belt loop. He noticed, and back away a little. Smirking, I asked, "What was that? Did you say no?"

"Hiiro, it is fine. I'll sleep on the couch," Soul said from behind me.

I swung and hit him on the head with my wrench, the spun and did the same to Cody. "Don't either of you know what hospitality is?"

"Yeah; fine. Soul, you can sleep in my room…" Cody said, pain dotting his words.

"Okay… sounds good…" Soul agreed in the same tone, giving a shaky thumbs-up.

"Great! Now, I'm going to the store. Maka, you wanna come with?" I said cheerfully.

She smiled and nodded. And then we left the boys alone in the apartment.

_Cody's POV_

"Well, if ya haven't noticed, Hiiro's gotten quite the temper in the last nine years…" I said to Soul.

"Yeah, I've noticed…"

I smiled at the floor. Soul glanced at me, and ran a hand through his hair. "So… are you and Hiiro, like… going out?"

I burst out laughing. He had to be kidding. Of course I loved Hiiro, but in a sister-brother way. Soul should have known that. But when he just stared at me, my laughing slowed down. "Look, Soul. Hiiro… she's my best friend. And I do love her, but more like a sister. Way back when, in maybe fifth or sixth grade, did I have those feelings for her. I'm way more than over that. Have been since seventh grade," I told him truthfully. Then I thought of something. Smirking, I crossed my arms. "Soul?"

"Y-Yeah?"

"Do _you_ like Hiiro?"

His eyes widened, and his face reddened. "Wha-what? No way! Why would you think that?" I shrugged my shoulders innocently, and went to the kitchen. Soul followed, attempting to explain why he asked me that question. "I just thought—you know, because you guys live with each other. And-" I held up my finger over a can of soda.

"Dude, I'm just messin' with you."

"Oh…"

**Later That Night: Specifically 11:43 pm**

_Hiiro's POV_

Maka and I changed into our pajamas in our shared bedroom. She wore a cute oversized blue jersey (it didn't go far past her thighs) with the number 35 on it, and a pair of fuzzy blue slippers. I changed into a red sports bra underneath a black shirt, and a pair of white shorts with an anime panda on the butt. The shirt hung low under my shoulders, but covered my bra, and dipped to my mid-waist. In white bubble letters was written, "j'aime la musique" with a red heart wearing headphones next to the word 'la.' It translated to "I love music" in French. We left my room, and sat on the couch. The boys came out of Cody's room, but didn't get far beyond the doorway. Cody basically drooled over Maka, and Soul wiped at his nose, crimson dripping from it. Maka and I rolled our eyes. Even so, we both glanced at them more than once. Soul was wearing a dark blue muscle shirt and black flannel pants. Cody had no shirt on, and just basketball shorts.

"Alright, boys, go ahead and move the coffee table and couch. Hiiro and I will pick out a movie," Maka told them with a wave of her hand.

"What? No way! You guys'll pick some sappy old chick-flick," Soul stated.

I raised my eyebrows at him. "That's what you think? I guess you'll just have to find out…"

Leaving them with no other choice, my ashy-blonde friend followed me to the movie case by the TV. We pulled out several movies, making sure to make it seem like we were actually choosing a chick-flick. Every time we commented on one, the boys groaned. However, we were just screwing with them. Maka and I picked out a totally opposite kind of movie.

We all sat down on the floor in front of the couch while Maka slipped in the movie. I took the remote and skipped through the trailers and Cody turned off the lights. Finally, the words, "The Darkest of Carnivals" appeared on screen, seeming to be written in blood. Soul seemed to flinch on the other side of Maka, and Cody, looked genuinely shocked I'd picked that movie. I got it for him a couple years ago for his birthday. He watched half of it, and I fell asleep through the trailers. So neither of us knew how it ended. It was a horror movie, so, obviously, it ended badly.

**Twenty-five Minutes After the Movie**

Maka whispered something in my ear, and I smiled deviously. As of now, the four of us were playing Truth-or-Dare like children, and it was my turn to dare Soul. You could use four passes, and Soul's used two. I've used one, Maka has used zero (because none of her truth or dares were extreme) and Cody used all of his. I turned back to Soul. "Alright, I dare you to… shake up a soda, and open it so it sprays in your face."

He stood up and walked to the fridge. "Any specific kind?"

"The stickiest kind we've got!" I told him with a giggle.

Soul pulled out a can of Mountain Dew, shook the can furiously, and quickly popped the tab. The green fizz foamed out over the top, and a little hit him in the face. He turned to us. "Good enough?"

We all laughed as Maka told him, "Not quite!"

He sighed and poured some of it on his face. We laughed even harder. Soul took a swig, crushed the can, and tossed it in the recycling bin. He wiped his face off with a towel, and sat back down in the floor-circle. Soul turned to Maka with a smirk. "Dare, of course," she told him with a smile.

"My dearest scythe meister," he began. "I dare you to give the other scythe meister a kiss."

Cody and Maka froze. I made the romantic-movie "Oooo" noise. She inched toward him shyly, and his face took on a deep red. After a few seconds, she gave him the quickest peck ever. And it was wimpy, because it was on the cheek. Soul and I rolled our eyes. But now it was Maka's turn to truth or dare whoever she pleased. We both took on an evil smile. The boys looked at us nervously. Twenty-three years old, I could still scare the shit out of Cody. "For both boys, truth, or dare?"

They looked at each other warily. A secret guy-conversation passed between them. I figured, because Maka and I could easily beat the living crap out of both of them, they'd wimp out and choose truth. Instead-

"Dare," to protect their male macho-ness.

But that was what Maka and I were going for. She gave them a sweet smile and said, "Good. 'Cause Hiiro and I dare you to play the Pocky Game with us."

Their jaws dropped a little. Oh the Pocky Game! Two people chew on two ends of the same piece of pocky, and their lips connect when they reach the middle. Whoever pulls away first loses.


	3. Real Mature

Soul and Cody watched in horror as Maka scribble all four of our names on small slips of paper and toss them in one of my old beanie hats, and me retrieve two boxes of strawberry pocky from the snack cabinet. Smiling, we sat back down in front of them. I reassured them one box was purely for snacking, and the other was for the game. Maka mixed up the papers, held the hat out to them. They each looked inside, peeking a little, grabbed a slip, and nervously read it over. They showed each other the papers, and seemed a little happy.

"Maka, you have to play the Pocky Game, round one," Soul announced.

"And playing the Pocky Game with you is Hiiro," Cody added.

My stomach tensed up. And of course that's why they were so smiley. Two girls, kind of kissing. Guys are so perverted. Maka got out a piece of the candy from the box, and held it up. I took one end in my mouth, and she took the other. We held each other's elbows. The boys watched with anticipation. One bite. Another bite. And then another. Last bite. Only an inch of space remained. One. More. Bite.

Her lips were soft against mine, and I felt a tingle go down my spine. I'm still not sure if it was good or bad. I wanted to pull away, but I didn't. I was very competitive and there was no way I would lose. A few seconds passed. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Cody drooling, and Soul's nose gushing. _He better clean that up_, I thought to myself. Finally, I pulled away just as Maka did. I wiped my mouth gently and glared at the boys. Maka did the same and snatched the papers from their hands. She dropped them back in the hat and shuffled them around. Honestly, it wasn't that bad. But I'd never do it again. Voluntarily.

**The Next Day**

A note lay on the bodiless air mattress where Maka should have been. '_Morning, Hiiro! I went out to find the library and get some books. I'll meet you at your shop later. –Maka._' I smiled. You can take the girl out of the nerd, but you can't take the nerd out of the girl. The alarm clock on my nightstand read 10:13. Cody would be at work by now, so that left Soul and I alone. Good thing he was a heavy sleeper!

I took my radio out to the kitchen and plugged it in on the counter. A CD that I made for myself was already in its slot. It had all my favorite songs on it. I cranked up the volume, and the bass was pulsing through my tiny apartment. I got out the ingredients for an omelet and a nonstick pan. "Tangled Up in Me" by Skye Sweetnum played next, and I sang along to the lyrics. I was so glad Soul was heavy sleeper right now, because I'm basically tone-deaf. It didn't really even matter if he heard me; the whole complex probably could, and let's be honest, I'm not trying to impress anyone.

When my cheesy omelet was done, I let my radio continue to play, but turned it down a little. As I ate, I nodded along to "Renegade" by Paramore. Soul appeared, leaning against the doorway to Cody's room. I smiled, swallowing a bite of egg. "Morning, Soul! Did I wake you up?"

"Kinda… you know, for a twenty-something year old, you have the energy of the same fourteen year old you used to be."

I stuck my tongue out at him. "Mmmmmnn!"

"Real mature, Hiiro," he told me with a roll of his eyes.

"I tend to do that a lot, and I can be as immature as I want. Like you said, I'm a twenty-something year old and I can take care of myself."

I finished my breakfast and dropped my plate and fork in the sink. Soul watched as I went to my room to get dressed. When I came out, we was sitting at the table. I hurriedly tied my jacket around my hips, and went to brush my hair and teeth. Afterwards, I slipped on my Converse and bent down over myself. My hands slid over my hair, smoothing it out, before they wrapped a hair tie around the brunette locks. I pulled up and ran my fingers through the choppy ponytail. I cocked my hip and placed a hand on it. "Hey, unless you wanna stay here all day by yourself, I suggest you get dressed. I still have work to go to."

Soul got up and quickly got dressed. When he came out of Cody's room, he was still buttoning up his shirt. Then we left on foot. He may have been playing around, but Soul's motorcycle was actually needing to be fixed up a little. It was a good thing my shop wasn't too far. I dug my hands into the top pockets of my cargo capris. There was a little coffee shop on the way that I always went to before work, called Latte Love. I was considered a regular customer, on account of my everyday appearance and kind of friendship with the manager.

_Soul's POV_

The bell over the door jingled as Hiiro and I walked into the coffee shop. She sat on a stool at the counter and called for someone named Lucas. A man appeared, maybe twenty-seven, with longer dusty brown hair, and shining blue eyes. He smiled at Hiiro, and for some reason I felt my gut twist.

"Hiiro! Nice to see you again," Lucas said to her.

"Hey, you too. Lucas, this is my good friend, Soul. Soul, this is my friend Lucas. He runs the place," she introduced us.

I nodded and shook his hand. Something about him made me not want to trust this guy. "You want your regular?" he asked politely.

"Of course! Soul, you want anything?"

"Huh? Oh, no. I'm good."

Lucas left and came back a second later with a to-go coffee cup. It was marked with Hiiro's name in loopy letters. My gut twisted up even more. She smiled sweetly at him. "One mocha latte for my favorite customer," Lucas told her with a sweep of his hand.

"Why, thank you, sir."

I couldn't help but notice how their fingers touched when Hiiro took the cup. My heart thumped loudly a couple times. As we were about to leave, Lucas called her back. She grinned and turned to him. "Um… I was wondering," he swept a casual hand through his hair. "Would you—do you wanna… I dunno; maybe go on a—a date? With me…?"

A lump formed in my throat, and it felt like I had a cat clawing and shredding my heart and stomach. And it got worse when her purple eyes lit up and her smile widened, and then even _more_ once she told him, "Yeah. I'd like that."

We left the shop and headed to her work. Hiiro was silent, but smiling widely still, as she sipped her stupid mocha latte. Suddenly she stopped, and looked at me. I stopped and looked at her. "Something wrong, Soul?"

"N-no. Why would something be wrong?"

"Well, you kinda look a little angry." I kept my mouth shut, and started walking again. Hiiro grabbed my arm and jogged up to my side. "I know something's wrong. Just tell me."

I sighed. "Well, it's just… Lucas… you're really going on a date with that guy?"

Her eyebrows knitted together. "Yeah. It's no big deal."

"I… I know but…"

Unexpectedly, she smirked at me. "Soul Evans. Are you _jealous_ of Lucas?"

A shocked expression crossed my face. Why would I be jealous? I had absolutely no reason to be. She kissed me once, yeah. But that was _nine years ago_. And she's bound to have had boyfriends since then. And I've had a girlfriend or two. Hell, even Maka and I went out for a month before we realized it wasn't quite right. She and Cody probably dated for a little. Maybe. "No! I'm not jealous of him. It's just that; how well do you know this guy?"

She sipped her coffee and crossed her arms. "Pretty well, actually. God, you're acting like my father."

I crossed my arms, now. "I am not. You go on a date with Lucas, have fun with him. Why should I care who you date? I don't! You could even sleep with him, for all I care!"

Her jaw dropped, and I knew I hadn't chosen my words correctly. For a second I thought she'd slap me or hit me with her wrench. "Sleep with him? Holy shit, Soul. You think I'm that kind of girl?"

"No! I-"

"Whatever. I don't even care right now. Just go away. I have work to do. Go back to the apartments or something."

And she turned and walked away.


	4. Liar

**A Few Days Later**

_Hiiro's POV_

Was I still mad at Soul? Juuust a little. Was I at least talking to him? Yup. Having whole conversations with him? Nope. Had I been trying to avoid him a bit? Oh yeah.

"So, tell me again why you've been coming into work early lately?" Cody asked me.

I shrugged my shoulders in reply. "No reason. Hand me the jack."

He did, and I sat it down on the floor. I quickly positioned it, and cranked the handle. The car was raised about two feet off the ground. "Alright, fine. So… Soul told me you were going on a date with Lucas."

I brightened a little, and continued to change the tire. "Yeah. Yesterday we decided on a movie, and dinner at the local diner on Saturday."

"Sounds fun. Do me a favor?"

"Hmm?"

"Don't go home with him."

Without thinking about anything, except about what Soul said, I swung and hit him in the head with my trusty wrench. "I'll do whatever I damn well please!"

"Ow! That's worse than a Maka-chop five times over! Anyway, I'm just warning you Hiiro-"

"Did Soul put you up to this?!"

Cody looked genuinely shocked. He shook his head. "No. Why? I'm just saying that, because, you know that girl I went out with a couple months ago?"

"Hannah?"

"Yeah. Well, before me she went out with some guy named Lucas. And he tried to, you know, have sex with her on their first date," he shrugged, then quickly added, "I'm not sure it's the same guy, though!"

"Cody, I'm freaking twenty-three. I can take care of myself. I can do whatever I want. God, how many times have I had to say that in the last week?"

**The Next Day**

Maka helped me go through my dresser for an outfit for my date. We went through a couple different things, but nothing seemed quite right for the movies. Finally, I dug out a pair of black skinny jeans with a sparkly silver belt. She agreed it would be cute, and searched for a top to go with it. After a while, she found a long orange tube top. I buckled the belt over it for more flare. Maka told me I should wear these black strappy heels that had been sitting in my shoe bin, looking pretty. I agreed and slipped them on. I did my hair in a low side ponytail, and applied light blush, red lip gloss (very subtle, actually) and very light orange eye shadow.

"Do I look like I'm trying to be a teenager? I kind of feel like I am…" I asked her, pulling out my ponytail and shaking my hair free.

"Nah, you're good. You're twenty-three, basically still a teenager!"

I laughed a little, and we walked out of my room.

_Soul's POV_

She looked… pretty. I'd never seen her wearing make-up, or wearing anything so nice. I guess, now I was jealous. And I watched as Cody walked over to Hiiro, whispered something in her ear and hugged her goodbye. She rolled her eyes and headed to the door. I wanted to say something to her, but it would just add fuel to the fire, and that wouldn't be cool.

_Hiiro's POV_

Lucas looked really nice. He seemed to stare at me for a moment, before shaking his head and leading me inside the theater. He paid for our tickets, and we made our way to the screening room. We talked a little on the way, but I wished we'd started off on a different subject.

"Um… so, Hiiro… that guy with the white hair…" Lucas began.

I resisted the urge to wind a growl through my words as I asked, "What about him?"

"Does he have a… like a thing for you or something?"

My eyes narrowed at the ground. "I highly doubt it… why do you ask?"

"W-well… it's just that he seemed kind of upset when I… when I asked you out the other day…"

"Look, I've known Soul for a long time, and he's… he's very protective of me. Like Cody, except not quite as much. I mean, I think that if I so much as broke my arm or something, he'd break whatever made me fall. Whether or not it's a jungle gym or a person. Whereas Cody would fret if I scraped my knee on the sidewalk." I softened a little as I explained this to Lucas, because it seemed to dawn onto me as well. "So, really, he's probably not to keen on me going on a date with someone he just shook hands with and said hello. At least Cody's met you a few times, or neither of us would be here right now," I finished with a chuckle.

Lucas blushed lightly and smiled. There was something in his eyes, and I couldn't quite put my finger on it. "Y-yeah. I guess so!"

_Aw, he's pretty cute when he's shy,_ I thought to myself, grinning at him. Finally, we reached the screening room, and walked through the doors to find ourselves some seats.

**Later That Night**

Lucas and I sat at the table of the diner. I chomped away at my fries and burger, and talked to Lucas between bites. Through the night, he got a little less bashful, and became a bit braver. Even getting to hold my hand during to movie, and putting his arm around my waist as we walked to the diner. He smiled at me as I told him how I got into a fistfight with a girl at school who said Cody was a dumbass. Yes, it was after I found my weapon ability, but of course I couldn't use my blades during this fight. And of course I left out the fact that I was a weapon to Lucas. The story ended with the girl stomping her foot at anger in her loss, flipping me off, and angrily walking away. We ate in silence for a while before Lucas smirked to himself, and captured me in his gaze. Again, there was that something in his eyes that I couldn't place. As he opened his mouth to speak, Cody's words about his ex Hannah and her other ex-boyfriend Lucas came rushing back to me. And then I recognized that look. Lust.

"Do you wanna come over to my place after this?" he asked confidently.

My mouth hung open for a moment. I closed my eyes and shook my head in disbelief. Generously giving him the benefit of the doubt, I replied, "What do you mean by that…?"

He laughed, giving me that lustful look again. "C'mon Hiiro, don't be stupid. You know what I mean."

My eyes narrowed, and I abruptly stood from the table. He watched me grab my bag and walk out the door. Lucas wasn't shy at all, it was just an act. Cody was right; it was the same Lucas. And Soul was right; I shouldn't have gone out with him. I barely got down the street when someone grabbed my wrist. I spun to see Lucas, eyes wide. When I tried to tug free, his grip tightened and he pulled me closer. "Hiiro, you're not going home tonight. You're coming with me, and you can leave my place tomorrow. Alright?"

"No way!"

Another tug and my arm was free. I started walking again, and Lucas caught up to me again. "C'mon. You know you want to. Let's go, it'll be fun."

"Tch. As if. Go away."

His eyebrows arched down in frustration. He pulled me into an alley, secluded from the eyes of anyone passing. And I mean _anyone_. I was pushed to the concrete ground, and landed on my back. He straddled me between his legs, and reached for the bottom of my shirt. I swiped at him, but he dodged and yanked the orange fabric above my head. Cold air hit my now bare stomach and part of my chest. He grinned seductively and moved to the hem of my jeans. My fist curled up, and cracked him in the jaw. Lucas fell back, and I scurried to my feet. This really was no problem. I could take him on easily. And I wasn't surprised when he got back up. Anger filled his eyes, and he rushed at me. My fingers wrapped around his fist with ease, and I swung him around and kicked him to the ground. Lucas rose again and lunged. He had strength, but no strategy and tactic. I had both. Dodging him was easy. But then, that's what he intended. He grabbed both my arms and tied them behind my back with my belt that had come off with my shirt. A little more difficult. I kicked at him, but my feet were an easy miss. To my horror, Lucas pinned me to the wall of the alley and managed to hold me in place. I felt him sucking on the skin just above my bra. I was angry, no I was _livid_. My knee came up and hit his groin. He doubled over in pain, and I somehow freed my wrists of the belt.

I quickly grabbed my shirt and bag, and ran towards the end of the alley. But I was suddenly paralyzed with fear when a mischievous snicker behind me. My head swiveled slowly to see some sort of creature with disheveled hair and beady black eyes standing behind Lucas. It had one bronze colored wing on the right, and red and black tattoo markings on the left arm. Similar tattoos marred its stomach, and it wore jeans with many rips. Red triangles were marked under its eyes, and its tongue flickered in and out of its mouth. Kishin. But here? In Ohio? I'd never encountered one outside of Death City. No matter, it needed to die. He advanced towards Lucas. I ran at him. As much as I hated Lucas, he didn't need to have his soul eaten. A knife appeared in the kishin's hand and, I pushed Lucas out of the way. My lovely blades that I'd missed the sight of came out of my arms and blocked the attack. With force, I knocked the knife from the kishin and kicked him away. Without thinking, I dialed Cody's number.

"The alley by the diner. There's a kishin attacking. You better get here soon; it's hard defending a man while fighting at the same time with no meister."

I could feel him smiling on the other end as he said, "Be there in one minute."


End file.
